Low-cost energy and other natural resources have played a key role in driving the Vietnamese economy over the past decades. Under the low-carbon development (LCD) scenario, Vietnam can achieve its Vietnam green growth strategy (VGGS) targets.
... See More + The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of achieving a cumulative 845 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions by 2030. The report finds that the VGGS sets ambitious but achievable targets for emissions reductions but will require early actions and significant policy commitment, design, and implementation across key sectors. Switching to a low-carbon investment strategy is cost-effective but requires significant initial investment. Implementing the LCD scenario will significantly lower capital and fuel expenditures in the electricity sector, relative to the business as usual (BAU) scenario. The combined energy-efficiency and clean-technology impacts of the LCD scenario will reduce the cost of imported fuels by 2.5 billion dollars in 2030, or a cumulative 7.9 billion dollars over 2015-30. Increasing the use of public transportation and electric bicycles (e-bikes) is fundamental to Vietnam’s sustainable mobility and economic growth, given the country’s high population density and the structure of its cities.
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India - home to one of the world's largest populations without electricity access - has set the ambitious goal of achieving universal electrification by 2017. 311 million people, a quarter of its population, remains without power, despite substantial efforts to increased affordable access for the poor.
... See More + This study focuses on India's residential electricity subsidies, as viewed through a poverty lens. Addressing these issues is especially urgent since the residential electricity sector accounts for nearly a quarter of India's total electricity consumption. Comparison of two survey rounds (2004/05 and 2009/10) was used to assess changes in electricity consumption over time. The study approach analyzed subsidy distribution by both below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) grouping, as well as income quintile, to allow for the wide variation in poverty rates states. The key findings in this study are that 87 percent of subsidy payments go to APL households instead of to the poor, and over half of subsidy payments are directed to the richest two-fifths of households. Furthermore, these estimates are conservative because they assume that BPL and APL households are accurately identified. Because APL households tend to consume more electricity, subsidies are skewed toward the upper quintiles. The major driver of these outcomes is tariff design. Few states have highly concessional BPL tariffs; in most, all households are eligible for a subsidy on at least a portion of their monthly electricity consumption. Combined with the fact that the poorest households consume relatively small amounts of electricity means that wealthier consumers with electricity access are typically eligible for just as much, if not more, subsidy as poorer ones. India's states have a variety of available options for improving their subsidy performance. Certain states model good practices that other states could consider adopting, for example, Punjab, Sikkim, Chattisgarh, and others. States may consider four model tariff structures that meet the twin, medium-term policy goals of high subsidy targeting and low cost. These are (i) creating BPL tariff schedules and eliminating subsidies from other schedules, (ii) delivering subsidies through cash transfers instead of tariffs, (iii) creating a volume differentiated tariff (VDT), and (iv) creating a lifeline tariff and removing subsidies from other tariffs.
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India has led the developing world in addressing rural energy problems. By late 2012, the national electricity grid had reached 92 percent of Indias rural villages, about 880 million people.
... See More + In more remote areas and those with geographically difficult terrain, where grid extension is not economically viable, off-grid solutions using renewable-energy sources for electricity generation and distribution have been promoted. The positive results of the countrys rural energy policies and institutions have contributed greatly to reducing the number of people globally who remain without electricity access. Yet, owing mainly to its large population, India has by far the worlds largest number of households without electricity. More than one-quarter of its population or about 311 million people, the vast majority of whom live in poorer rural areas, still lack an electricity connection; less than half of all households in the poorest income group have electricity. Among households with electricity service, hundreds of millions lack reliable power supply.
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By the late 1990s, the technical and financial performance of the power sector in India had deteriorated to the point where the Government of India had to step in to bail out the state utilities, almost all of which were vertically integrated state electricity boards (SEBs).
... See More + Considering that the dismal performance of state utilities reflected internal and external shortfalls in governance, the new Electricity Act of 2003 (EA 2003) mandated the unbundling and corporatization of the SEBs, along with the establishment of independent regulators. This was expected to bring about a more accountable and commercial performance culture, with concomitant results in improved utility performance. The rest of this review is organized as follows. Chapter two summarizes the institutional context and relevant developments over the past two decades. Chapter three focuses on the corporate governance agenda adopted by the government and its implementation, specifically relating to the structure and functioning of utility boards of directors. Chapter four reviews SERC regulatory governance. Chapter five analyzes the correlation between key indicators of the quality of regulatory and corporate governance and utility financial performance. And chapter six concludes.
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As part of its energy sector reforms, the Government of Pakistan plans to reduce spending on electricity subsidies to 0.3-0.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by mid-2016.
... See More + The reforms will alleviate a major constraint on the government's budget. However, they will necessitate increases in the price of electricity, which have the potential to measurably reduce the welfare of the poor. The government will need to carefully design the price increases and provide associated compensation to avoid this outcome. This paper demonstrates that that it is possible for the government to protect the poor against most of the costs of the reform while at the same time improving the targeting of remaining subsidy expenditures. Measures that can be taken include targeting subsidies based on poverty scores and providing targeted cash compensation to poor households. The authors illustrate how these measures can be implemented, and estimate their associated welfare impacts.
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